movie

Footage of the dive on MV Jolanda,
1-5-07

Nina Preisner

Neil Black

Another New World Record at Ocean Tec

What the papers say: The Times  The Daily Express

Ninas' story

Radio broadcasts: Radio 4 interview link

On Mayday, 2007, Ocean Tec instructor Nina Preisner set a new world record. At 13.40 local time, she became the deepest woman wreck diver on open circuit scuba, having glided comfortably down through the blue to settle on the bow of the Jolanda at a depth of 159.8 metres. Carrying 6 tanks of various breathing gasses and accompanied by Oceans' Deepest Angel, Neil Black, she spent 4 minutes on the sunken deck of the stricken vessel during a dive that lasted 157 minutes, most of which was spent decompressing.
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It wasn’t all plain sailing, however, and the months building up to this final, record breaking dive were fraught with problems obtaining equipment, permissions, insurances and all the assurances that are necessary when attempting such a feat. Assembling an elite support team of ‘Oceans Angels’ Tec divers, sourcing the specialist equipment required, having a hyperbaric emergency medical unit a mere 15 minutes away by fast  RIB, and finding a video camera capable of recording at such depths are possible only in somewhere like Sharm El Sheikh. The local Tec diving community banded together in her support and finally all the pieces of the puzzle came together. Tec support divers from all over the world, some flying in especially for this project, trained and worked alongside local Tec divers and emergency medical facilities, all bonded by their love of exotic, expensive gasses and the mysteries of the deep, deep blue sea.

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The Jolanda 160 Project aimed to complete a safe and successful dive to a depth of 160 metres on the wreckage of the Yolanda, while securing the 'Women’s Deepest Wreck Dive World Record', previously held by Adina Ochert with a dive to 144 metres on CCR.

Nina Preisner, is a TDI technical Instructor working full-time in Sharm el Sheikh. Three years ago Nina took a career break from law and moved to Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt, to pursue her love of diving. She has yet to return to her original career!

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